This invention relates to an oven for cooking and flavoring meat products such as ribs, poultry, brisket and the like.
More particularly, the invention relates to an oven adapted for use in restaurants and delicatessens and adapted to impart a smoked or barbeque flavor to the meat as the meat is being cooked. Typically, such ovens in the past have utilized hickory or other wood blocks or chips which produce the desired smoke when the oven is heated and the resins of the wood are vaporized. The wood blocks or chips create ash and other residue in the oven and thus the oven must be cleaned frequently in order to remove the ash. In addition, a new supply of blocks or chips must be placed in the oven periodically and must be loaded into the oven in substantially uniform quantities in order to keep the flavor of the meat consistent from batch-to-batch.